This is “Worship is a Big Deal to me”. The church is going through the same things the world is going through and the world is asking the church for a song of hope—asking for our worship. The world is looking for hope and light and faith. We have to get our harps out of the willow trees and lift up our voices. We must bring the sound of victory and salvation to a world in desperate need of hope and salvation.

>> Thank you for joining us

today on Kingdom Connection.

It’s my prayer that God

will use something specific

in this broadcast today

to really speak directly

to your spirit.

I say that with confidence

because I know God

still speaks to us,

and it’s really our desire here

that you will open your heart

and hear a now word

of what God is saying to you.

We’re so grateful

to have you with us

on Kingdom Connection today.

Let’s go right into the service.

♪ ♪

>> I want you to look

with me in Psalms 137.

“By the rivers of Babylon

there we sat down.

Yes, we wept

when we remembered Zion.”

Here’s what I want you

to focus on.

“We hung our harps

up in the willows

in the midst of it

For there those who carried

us away captive

asked of us a song,

And those who plundered us

requested mirth,

Saying “Sing us one

of the songs of Zion!”

Verse 4, “How shall we sing

the Lord’s song

in a foreign land?”

The King James says,

“How shall we sing

the Lord’s song

in a strange land?”

But what touched me about

this story is we have a picture

of some people

who had a wonderful life

in Jerusalem

and wonderful worship,

and they played their harps,

and they had a choir

that would sing in the temple,

and people would shout

and praise God in the temple,

but now circumstances

had changed,

and they were taken

into Babylonian captivity.

They were about to enter

across the river.

They would go

and be enslaved for many years,

and they knew it.

And the Bible said

in desperation —

there’s my saxophone,

and I love to play it.

It’s a part of my life.

It’s a very big part of my life

since I was 12 years old,

and I picked it up

for the first time.

But I can’t imagine anything

so bad happening in my life

that I would say,

“I’m never going to pick

that instrument up again.

I’m never gonna play it again.

I’ve been so hurt.

I’ve been so devastated.

I’m so defeated

that I’ve lost my song.

I’ve lost my music.

I’ve lost my worship,

and I’m gonna hang that

instrument of worship

up in the willow tree

which is a sign of weeping

and sorrow because

of what’s happened in my life,

and I’ll never sing again,

and I’ll never play again,

and I’ll never worship again

with joy of the Lord.”

But that’s what had happened

to these people.

The primary instrument

or musical instrument

that that they had was the harp,

and they said,

“We’re putting our harps.

We’ll never sing again.”

Circumstances have changed,

and this is so important.

When conditions change,

that’s when the enemy whispers,

“Hang it up.”

When things change

from very positive

and very delightful

to total uncertainty

and mystery and where is God

and why would He allow

all this to happen

and why doesn’t He do something,

that’s when the enemy

comes and says,

“Just hang it up.

Just give up.

Just throw in the towel.”

And you’ll never sing again.

You’ll never be happy again.

You’ll never play

that song again,

and this is a point

that these people

had reached.

I want to remind you

today that worship

is not just something we do.

Worship is a weapon.

The devil’s desire

is to make us more defensive

than offensive.

Lucifer was the archangel

of worship.

He was over heaven’s worship,

and he knows more about worship

than any of us including me.

He knows that if he can

defeat us individually

or as a church or as a people,

the only way that he can do that

is to first defeat us

in the arena of worship.

Satan knows that your worship

is a weapon,

and he wants you

to get so discouraged

that you lose your song.

You lose the heart of worship.

You lose your love for God.

When I think about

how the most potent weapon

that we have

in our offensive operation

against Satan’s power

is worship.

When we begin to worship,

we invade the devil’s territory.

When we begin to worship

like Aaron did.

He took a censor and when

a plague broke out in Israel,

the Bible said he ran

and stood between

the living and the dead,

and he would swing that censor,

and those incense would burn up,

and the Bible said

the plague stopped.

Psalm 68:1 says,

“Let God arise,

and His enemies be scattered.”

When you begin to praise God —

and the next part says,

“Our God has gone up

with a shout.”

The way that God gets aroused,

the way that God will rise up

in your defense

is when you begin

to praise Him.

He inhabits the praise.

And notice when God arises,

the enemy starts running.

Two things happen when we begin

to praise the Lord.

God rises, and the enemy runs.

He runs from the worship

of God’s people.

Listen, when you worship God,

what you’re doing is

you are redeeming the thing

that Satan stole from heaven.

Satan was the worship leader,

and you become his replacement.

When you begin to praise God,

you are restoring and redeeming

what Satan stole from heaven.

He hates to hear you worship.

Worship is so much of a weapon

that in 2 Chronicles 20,

Jehoshaphat was about

to fight a battle, and he said,

“Where’s the spears

and where’s the sword

and where’s the weapons of war?”

And the prophet said,

“Thus sayeth the Lord,

you will not fight

with those weapons,

but you put the praise singers

and the musicians

out on the front line,

and he said worship

will be your weapon

in this battle.”

Praise births

the presence of angels

into the battle zone

of your experience.

When you begin to praise God,

praise is God’s address.

Praise brings revelation.

Listen carefully to this

and don’t ever forget

what I’m about

to share with you.

When Joseph was there in Egypt

as a powerful man

who had all the wealth

and the food when the nation

and the world was starving

to death and his brothers came,

the same brothers

that had done him so wrong,

do you remember

he disguised himself,

and they did not know

it was Joseph their brother?

But the Bible says something

that you’ll read right over.

Do you know what made him reveal

who he really was to them?

He had all that they needed,

and they didn’t even know

who he was,

and they were in a famine,

and they had come

just to get some scraps.

But do you know

what made him reveal?

He said I want you to go

back to your father,

and I want you to bring

the youngest son back with you.

And the Bible said

and suddenly one of the brothers

named Judah stepped forward,

and he said, oh,

that would break

my father’s heart

if I have to go get

my younger brother

and bring him to you to enslave.

He said I’ll tell you what,

take me instead and when Judah,

which means praise.

That’s the Hebrew word

for praise.

When Judah stepped forward,

the Bible said Joseph broke,

and he went behind the curtain,

and he began to weep,

and he took his disguise off,

and he came out,

and he said I am Joseph.

I am your brother.

If you really wanna see

who the King is,

when you begin to worship,

worship is revelatory.

Worship brings revelation.

You will see who God is

only when you begin when Judah

in your life steps forward

and begin to praise Him.

From that day forward,

Judah and Benjamin

were inseparable.

They were always together.

Every time you read

in the Old Testament,

1 Kings 12:21

when the kingdom split,

Judah stayed with Benjamin.

Benjamin, according

to Genesis 49,

the prophesy over him

as he would be a warrior,

a ravenous wolf.

Praisers and warriors

go together.

If you praise,

you become a warrior.

You’ve got to be a worshipper

and a warrior in times

like these.

The Bible says in Psalms 50,

“Praise Him in the sanctuary.

Praise Him in the firmament

of His power.”

It seems backwards.

It seems like the praise

should start in Heaven,

and it should fill the earth,

but God says, no.

He says it starts on Earth

and when you praise me

and remember your body

is the temple,

your body is the sanctuary,

and when you praise me

in the sanctuary, He says,

then I will turn around,

and I will begin

to send the blessings.

If nothing goes up,

nothing comes down.

If you don’t release worship,

miracles do not come down.

Praise Him in the sanctuary.

Praise Him in here,

and He’ll go with you out there.

Praise Him in here,

and He’ll fill your week

all week long.

Praise Him in here

in your heart,

in your life.

Ezekiel saw the throne of God,

and he saw it as wheels.

It had wheels.

He said, “I saw the throne,

and it was a mobile throne,”

and he said, “It was like wheels

in the middle of a wheel.”

He said, “I saw

a flashing light.

I saw living creatures.

I saw all of these things

enfolding upon themselves,”

and He said, “I saw wheels

turning on the throne as God

was moving from heaven

to Earth.”

And then he said,

“The only thing human

that he saw

in all of this flashing

and lightning and glory

was human hands.”

The tremendous power

of God’s presence

is in our hands

when we begin to worship God.

We’ve got a rolling throne.

He gives us somewhere

to praise God.

Praise Him in the sanctuary.

That’s your temple.

And then he says something

to praise God for.

Praise Him for His mighty acts

and for His excellent greatness.

And then he gives us something

to praise God with.

Praise Him with a trumpet.

Praise Him with

the stringed instruments.

Praise Him with the tumbrel

and the dance.

Praise Him with the cymbals

and the high-sounding cymbals.

“Well, I’m not a musician,

Pastor Franklin.”

Well, can you breathe?

Do you breathe

because he then finishes it

and says, “Let everything

that has breath praise

ye the Lord.”

[applause]

I’m right where

I wanted to get.

So, these people

have been taken captive,

and here’s the lesson.

Look at me, everyone.

It’s so important.

They’re prisoners of war

because they have hung up

their harps in the willow trees.

You’re either gonna be a P.O.W.,

meaning a person of worship,

or you’re going to become

a prisoner of war

because when hard times

and bad things

happen to you

and you hang your harp up,

then I’m gonna

tell you something.

You become a prisoner of war,

to hopelessness,

to depression,

to addiction,

to defeat,

to lies,

to fear,

to worry,

to depression.

I refuse to do that.

I have a choice.

Which one do you choose?

You’re gonna be a P.O.W.

You’re either

gonna be a person of worship or

you’re going to become

a prisoner of war,

and you decide.

When your mouth is silent,

when you hang your harp up,

your worship up because

of what you’ve been through,

you lose the victory.

I want us to understand

that the Bible said

that they were

in a strange land.

And this is the problem;

they were dealing with things

they didn’t plan for.

It’s not the things

we never saw this year coming.

We never saw

the coronavirus coming.

We never saw and dreamed

the things that we’ve seen;

the division, the pain,

the hurt in our Nation,

the unemployment,

all of this stuff,

all of the division,

all of the hurt,

and now being out of church

for almost six months.

We didn’t see.

It’s the strangest!

The Bible said

they were in a strange land.

You talk about —

this is the strangest year

of my life.

I have never seen anything

like this in my life.

It’s the strangest time

for the church.

It’s the strangest time

for people individually.

It’s the strangest time

in our families

and in our lives.

We don’t —

but that’s when

the enemy whispers,

“Give up your worship.

Lose your song.

Hang up your harp

in the willow tree.”

But if I’m reading this text,

it’s when

the unexpected happens,

you have to determine

you’re not going to let it

steal your song.

You’ve got to learn how to sing

when you are in uncertainty,

when things have happened

that you never saw coming,

and you never planned for.

That’s that strange place,

that strange time,

and you have to make a decision,

and here’s how you do it.

The thing you have to do

is you have to remember

that you don’t allow

your identity to be defined

by circumstances.

I’m still a child of God

no matter

what I’m going through.

My circumstances

may have changed

from being blessed

in the temple to a situation

where I feel like

I’m at the river

right next to Babylon

and all hell is breaking loose,

but that doesn’t change.

Where you are does not change

who you are.

Your geography

does not change

your genealogy.

Who you are is who you are,

and it’s not determined

by where you are.

You may be watching me

in the hospital

with COVID right now,

but that does not change

the fact that you’re not here

and you’re there

in the hospital,

and that doesn’t change

the fact that you are still

a child of God.

You may be sitting here today,

and last week you were employed,

and this week you’re unemployed,

but where you are

does not change who you are.

You’re still blood bought.

You’re still called by His name.

You still have Him

as your Savior

and your Redeemer.

You’re God’s child

no matter where you are,

no matter what you’re

going through,

and that’s why you ought

not to hang your harp up,

but you ought to praise Him

even more that you’re not alone,

that you won’t face it

by yourself.

Shout amen, somebody.

Tell somebody

I’m still a child of God

whether I have COVID

or I don’t have COVID,

whether I go through high times

or I go through low times.

I’m still a child of God,

and that makes me

wanna praise Him.

[cheering]

Don’t allow where you are

to hinder your worship.

Paul and Silas

started praising God

in the jail cell

in the midnight hour.

They sang praises unto God.

If anybody had a right

to hang their harp up —

now, I’m getting

a little stirred in my spirit

because I don’t believe

that you’re hearing

what I’m preaching to you,

but you better hear it

’cause it’s critical

in these times.

We’re in a strange time,

and the voice of the enemy

is saying to believers,

“Hang your worship in a tree

of weeping and lose your song.”

But notice what they did.

In the midnight hour,

backs beaten,

chained to the wall,

Paul starts going “Do-re-mi,

mi-mi-mi,

re-re-re,”

and Silas says,

“What are you doing?”

He says, “I’m getting ready

to sing my song of joy

in this filthy prison house

surrounded with rats,

surrounded with guards

and captives.

I’m gonna lift Him up

in my midnight hour.”

And he began to sing praises

unto God in that

horrible circumstance.

The Bible said,

“They hung their harps

in the willow trees.”

They hung their praise

and worship up

because they got

in discouraging circumstances.

The Bible said what got them

to the place of giving up

and hanging their instrument

into the trees of sorrow was,

first of all,

that first part

of the verse in Verse 2

it tells us they hung

their harps up,

but in Verse 1 it tells us

why they did it.

It said they sat down

and then they started weeping,

and then the next thing you know

they lost their song.

They hung their harps up.

It all starts when you sit down.

They got tired of standing.

You have to keep standing

for what’s right.

You have to keep standing

on what this book says.

You have to keep standing.

You can’t get your eyes

on people.

You can’t get your eyes

on what so and so is doing.

You just keep standing

when you know what is right

and you do what God —

and when you feel like

sitting down,

that’s when you need to stand up

and start praising God,

and when the enemy

says sit down and cry,

you need to say,

“No, I’m gonna stand up

in praise ’cause I know

my God is still on the throne.”

Give God a mighty praise

and refuse

to sit down and cry.

Boo-hoo-hoo

or praise the Lord.

You choose.

You choose.

[cheering]

You’re gonna have to choose.

Don’t trade your harp

for a handkerchief…

[whimpering]

…have a pity party.

When you send out

the invitations, nobody comes

but the devil, and he says,

“Yes, you’re right.

You should.”

No, no, no.

Stand up to life.

We reign in this life as kings,

the Bible says.

We reign in this life.

God has not made you

a trampling mat for the devil.

Weeping may endure for the night

and when it does,

that’s when you sing.

Sing through the weeping.

Sing through the sorrow.

Sing through the depression.

Sing through the dark days.

Weeping endures for the night,

but the devil needs

to know that my sorrow

and your sorrow

has an expiration date

already written.

Before you ever got in it,

he already had something

coming down the road,

and He says, “If you make it

through the night,

joy comes in the morning.”

And the only thing

that’s gonna get you

from a weeping night

to a joyful morning

is praise the Lord.

Hallelujah.

Let me put some worship on.

Let me get into the book.

Let me lift my hands

even when I don’t feel like it.

Hallelujah!

God, makes this more

than words and just

another sermon.

It’s gotta become who we are.

You don’t understand.

I am a praiser.

Before I was a preacher,

I was a praiser.

Before I was anything,

I was a praiser.

There was something

in me in my DNA

My mama and my daddy

put praise in my DNA,

I do believe,

and I can’t help myself.

I can’t go but so long

and I’ll start singing praise.

And you say, “Well,

I don’t know no songs.”

Well, sing this, “Hallelujah!

I don’t have

the coronavirus today.

Praise the name of Jesus.

I’m not in the ICU

Hallelujah!

If I’m in it,

I’m coming out of it

’cause He set up an end

to darkness, Job said.

I don’t have cancer.

I’ve got food today.

I’ve got a roof over my head.

I’ve got all that I need.”

[applause]

And if you do have

and you don’t have,

praise Him,

and that’ll build the bridge.

I want you to notice

in closing this.

The Bible said that the enemy

required of us a song.

Did you read that?

Notice that the Babylonians

when they saw the Israelites

who were famous

for their worship

hanging their harps up

in the willow trees.

These are God’s people,

and the Babylonians are a type

of the world’s people,

and the world’s people

are going through the same thing

that the church people

are going through.

They’ve just been up

on their holy hills so long

that they can’t relate

to those people down there,

but now we’re all going through

the same thing.

Can’t even half come to church.

Go for five months.

So, we’re in the same boat

as the Babylonians,

and the only thing

that the Babylonians said

to them is they said,

“Would you please

sing for us?

If we ever needed to hear

your song,

we need to hear it.

I’m looking for something.

I worship 400 gods

across the river over there

in Babylon,

but they just don’t,

they just don’t meet my need.

If I could see.

I’ve heard you people sing.

I’ve seen the joy

that you have, and would you?

I require of you.

Please give me your song

’cause we’re all going through

the same thing.”

And if ever there was a time

when the world

needs to hear our joy,

hear our faith,

hear our love,

hear our praise,

hear our worship,

it’s now.

People need hope.

People need it.

♪ ♪

>> Thank you so much

for being with us today

on Kingdom Connection.

It’s because of you

we’re on television right now.

Our number one goal

for being on television

is to reach people

with the Gospel.

To find the hurting,

the broken,

those that feel like

they don’t matter

and don’t count,

and call them into a real

loving relationship

with Jesus Christ.

If you’re hurting today

and you’re watching right now

and you want to give

your life to Jesus,

why don’t you just repeat

this prayer after me.

“Lord, Jesus.”

Just say those words.

“Lord, Jesus

come into my heart.

You died and shed your blood

to forgive me,

and rose again

to live through me.

I give You my life,

give me Your peace,

give me Your help,

give me Your purpose

for my life.

Help my family, help me,

direct me, guide me

through this time.

In Jesus’ name.

I don’t wanna be alone anymore.

Amen, and amen.”

I really want you to know

a miracle just happened.

Our team has prepared

a special kit designed

for your new walk with the Lord.

We really want to help you.

And we pray that this

21-day devotional

will bless you,

and guide you.

Whatever season of life

that you may be in,

you’ll sense the presence,

the peace,

and the goodness of God.

For decades I have set

the beginning of the year

for prayer and fasting.

I know we’re approaching

Christmas and the holidays.

We’ve come through so much

with the election,

and it’s feast time again.

Hopefully we’ll be able

to get together

with our families and have

big Christmas celebrations.

But, this January

in just a few short weeks

we’ll be coming together

as a ministry to set aside

the first of the year

and seek God in fasting

and in prayer.

For 21 days we will seek

the face of the Lord.

Our team has put together

some unique resources

to help you plan and prepare

and to build your faith

for a successful fast.

You can do it.

And please know that your gift

of support to this ministry

helps us keep preaching

the message of Jesus Christ

all around the world

in over 200 nations

all over the world.

You keep it going,

you make it happen

when you give.

That’s our primary reason

for being here.

Everything else is just —

that we do —

and we do a lot of missions

and we do a lot

of support stuff,

but the primary reason

we’re here is to preach

the Gospel of Jesus Christ

to 200 nations

through this broadcast

and create

inspirational resources

to use and bless people’s lives

and tell ’em more

about Jesus.

Thank you.

Please help us end strong

this year.

Give an unusual gift.

We need your support

to do what God

has called us to do.

Thank you.

>> ANNOUNCER: Are you ready

to transform your life?

Now you can experience

Jentezen Franklin’s

dynamic teaching on fasting

in his New York Times

best-selling book, “Fasting.”

You’ll receive the keys

to encountering

the countless rewards

and blessings of fasting

that open the door to a deeper,

more intimate relationship

with God.

Everything you need

to access the power

of biblical fasting is found

in the 2020 Fasting Kit.

Including the types

of fasts in the Bible,

the secret to a successful fast,

choosing the right fast for you;

the connection between

fasting and prayer,

How to begin and end your fast,

the essential components

of a successful fast,

what to expect physically,

mentally and spiritually.

With your generous gift

of $1,000 or more this month,

you’ll not only help us

preach the gospel

through the broadcast to over

200 nations globally,

but help us go above

and beyond to help

our partners in Israel.

You can request the 2020

Limited Edition Fasting Kit,

plus this stunning ornament

made with soil from Jerusalem.

We’ll also include

this specially created blanket

inscribed with

the Numbers 6 blessing,

and our special edition

Legacy Bible

with over 300,000 words

of commentary;

including highlights

from Jentezen Franklin’s

fasting teachings.

Or, with your best gift of $50

or more you can receive

Jentezen Franklin’s Fasting Kit,

and get ready for God’s power

to break through in your life.

Fasting is a tremendous weapon,

and a source of power

in the life

of every believer.

Experience it today.

>> Cherise and I

wanna invite you to join us

on our Holy Land Tour.

It’s an amazing trip,

unlike anything

you’ve ever experienced,

and we’ll be on the trip,

we get on the busses,

our family will be on there,

and I promise you,

it will change your life.

You’ve been thinking about it,

you’ve been praying about it,

this is the year to go.

God’s gonna open your eyes

to things you’ve never

seen and experienced before

in the holy land.

Get signed up today.

>> We hope you’ve enjoyed

this teaching

by Jentezen Franklin,

and thank you

for your continued support

of this ministry.

Your prayers

and financial support

make these programs possible.

For more information

about this message

and other ministry resources,

visit us online

at JentezenFranklin.tv.